Texas State will be welcoming acclaimed lawyer Bryan Stevenson as its LBJ Distinguished Lecturer Feb. 5 at the Evans Auditorium. The event has already sold out, leaving many disappointed.
He will be the second speaker to come to campus for the 2017-2018 Common Experience.
Bryan Stevenson is the author of this year’s Common Experience reading,”Just Mercy,” a memoir which addresses the theme, The Search for Justice: Our Response to Crime in the 21st Century.
Although the event is free to the public, attendees will be required to have a ticket in order to enter. This was established after last semester saw Anthony Grave’s public speech become overflowed with students attempting to enter the auditorium. The event did not require a ticket to attend, therefore allowing more students in than seats available.
Twister Marquiss, senior lecturer at the University College and director of the Common Experience, said the use of tickets will give a good idea of attendance and prevent long waiting lines.
“We plan on making it a continuous thing, considering the large turnout of students at the Graves event last semester,” Marquiss said.
The tickets for the Stevenson lecture opened the first week through email for PACE students, who were given priority due to the fact that they were the most likely to have read the book for their US Seminar classes. Staff, faculty and the rest of the student body were given access Jan. 22 on the Texas State Fine Arts Box Office website. All tickets sold out in less than 24 hours.
Robert Styers, box office manager, explained that using tickets is the best option as of right now, to prevent an overcrowding of attendees in upcoming events.
“The Fine Arts Ticket Office is not well integrated with the Common Experience, which is why tickets were never thought off before,” Styers said.
The Common Experience committee was hoping to host big events like this in Strahan Coliseum but was unable to because of construction around it.
Students who were unable to get a ticket may still have the opportunity to attend the event. If an individual with a ticket does not show up, then that empty seat will go to someone waiting in line.